What follows is the response of one Baylee Drown, an assistant
farm manager at Cerridwen Farm at Green Mountain College, to those opposing
the college’s decision to kill its working oxen—Bill and Lou—rather than
turn these animals over to
VINE Sanctuary, which has agreed to care for
them.

I’ve annotated the letter with my own brief thoughts as I read it. The
response reveals, on the whole, a stunning disregard for the animals that
Baylee Drown claims to care so much about. It is a sadly perfect
demonstration of how much work vegan advocates have to do in order to make
headway into the “sustainable” mentality, which, as you will see, currently
sustains little more than moral myopia and callous disregard for the lives
of farm animals. My annotations are in ALL CAPS.

- James McWilliams

Greeting Friend,

As a
moral vegetarian, I am extremely sympathetic to your opinions regarding the
fate of Bill and Lou. I am personally against consuming meat, but I support
sustainable animal agriculture [THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SUSTAINABLE ANIMAL
AGRICULTURE], as many domesticated animals would not exist without the
demand for their products [A COMMENT THAT UNDERMINES ANY CLAIM YOU MAKE TO
MORAL CONSIDERATION]. Bill and Lou are a product [THEY ARE NOT A PRODUCT,
THEY ARE SENTIENT BEINGS, NOT COMMERCIAL GOODS] of animal agriculture, and
their fate was statistically sealed [I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT STATISTICS HAS TO
DO WITH THIS MATTER, BUT IT SOUNDS HORRIFICALLY THOUGHTLESS] since birth.
Bill and Lou are a by product [IN THE COURSE OF A SENTENCE, YOU'VE REDUCED
BILL AND LOU FROM A PRODUCT TO A BY-PRODUCT!] of the dairy industry, their
mothers were Guernsey dairy cows kept for milk production.

Most bull calves
only live for a short while after birth [AND WHY IS THAT? FATE?], either
being eaten as veal, or corn finished beef at 18-22 months of age. Because
Bill and Lou found their way to our grass-based, diversified, 22 acre farm,
they were granted an extension [OH, HOW GENEROUS OF YOU! BUT I'M WONDERING
WHERE YOU DERIVED SUCH A RIGHT? WHAT PART OF YOUR MORAL SYSTEM ALLOWS HUMANS
TO CHOOSE WHEN AN ANIMAL DIES?], because they were able to find another
purpose other than consumption at a young age [YOU WRITE AS IT ALL THIS WERE
HAPPENING ACCORDING TO SOME COSMIC LAW OF NATURE WHEN, OF COURSE, WE ARE
TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE RAISING, KILLING, AND COMMODIFYING ANIMALS THAT DO NOT
WANT TO DIE AND SUFFER IMMENSELY--IN ESSENCE, THESE ARE CHOICES. YOUR
PASSIVE VOICE OBSCURES THIS POINT]. Our use of Bill and Lou has granted them
a 10 year extension [YOU SPEAK OF THEM AS IF THEY WERE DEATH ROW INMATES
WHEN IN FACT THEY ARE INNOCENT ANIMALS] to enjoy expressing natural
behaviors and experience the pleasure and pain of existing on earth.
[ACCORDING TO WHAT MORAL SYSTEM DO YOU CLAIM SUCH POWER? WHO GAVE YOU
AUTHORIZATION TO GRANT, EXTEND, AND END LIFE FOR A SENTIENT BEING? HAVE YOU
HEARD THE WORD "SPECIESIST"?]]

As I read many objections to Bill and Lou’s
processing into meat [WOULD YOU JUST SAY IT DIRECTLY, RATHER THAN HIDE IT IN
AWKARD LANGUAGE TWISTS: YOU ARE KILLING LOU AND BILL], it makes me sad to
reflect that Bill and Lou, who have experienced an excellent quality of
life, are the center of attention when so many bull calves are processed
into veal without ever having a chance to live to maturity [WE ARE JUST AS
CONCERNED WITH THEM, SO CURB YOU SADNESS, AND HOW DOES KILLING TWO OXEN
SUPPORT YOUR ARGUMENT THAT ALL THE OTHER COWS DESERVE BETTER?]. I am
saddened even more when I think of all of the beef and dairy cattle that are
kept in feedlots or exclusively in barns. [JUST BECAUSE YOU TREATED BILL AND
LOU BETTER THAN OTHER ANIMALS DOES NOT JUSTIFY YOUR CHOICE TO KILL THEM--WHY
WOULD YOU THINK THAT?] Seeing Bill and Lou living outside for many years has
given me great satisfaction. [ASK YOURSELF WHY. IT'S BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT
PRODUCTS AND BY PRODUCTS BUT FEELING ANIMALS WITH INTRINSIC WORTH. NOW THINK
ABOUT THE ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF KILLING THEM]. I think our farm practices
animal production in the most ethical way possible [I THINK IT'S ULTIMATELY
WORSE THAN A FACTORY FARM, BECAUSE ON A FACTORY FARM PRODUCERS AT LEAST
NEVER RECOGNIZE THE MORAL WORTH OF THE ANIMALS. YOU, BY CONTRAST, HAVE
RECOGNIZED THEIR MORAL WORTH AND ARE STILL KILLING THEM. WHICH IS
FRIGHTENING].

Our students know where their food comes from [YES, IT COMES
FROM UNNECESSARY SLAUGHTER, UNNEEDED SUFFERING, AND PROFOUND DISREGARD FOR
AN ANIMAL'S LIFE--SO WHY NOT DO SOMETHING TRULY EDUCATIONAL AND RESPOND
ACCORDINGLY? HAND THEM OVER TO VINE AND EXPLORE WHERE VEGAN FOOD COMES
FROM!]. They are faced with the reality that their meat was once living and
breathing- and they should be concerned with how their food was raised [THEY
SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED WITH THE FACT THAT THE ANIMALS WERE KILLED FOR NO
OTHER REASON THAN HUMANS LIKE HOW THEY TASTE]. Eating meat with a name is
one way we make certain consumers face the reality and seriousness of taking
an animal’s life for their meat [WRONG. SO WRONG. IT'S A WAY TO PROVE THAT
YOU COULD CARE LESS ABOUT THE INTRINSIC WORTH OF THE ANIMALS]. Our community
feels strongly that honesty [HA! WHAT BIZARRE MORAL LOGIC. OKAY, SO I'M
GOING TO DO SOMETHING TOTALLY UNETHICAL, BUT BECAUSE I'M OPEN ABOUT IT, ALL
IS OKAY. MY HONESTY TRUMPS THE MORAL TRANSGRESSION OF MURDER? WHAT A WORLD
WE'D HAVE IF WE APPLIED SUCH LOGIC TO OTHER AREAS OF LIFE] and connection
with food is essential for decentralizing the food system and rebuilding
local systems.

Bill and Lou are valuable to our community [BUT NOT IN A NOBLE
WAY; ONLY IN AN INSTRUMENTAL WAY, WHICH IS NOTHING TO BRAG ABOUT]. We will
continue to respect their contribution to our community as their purpose
[WHO ARE YOU TO DEFINE THE PURPOSE OF ANOTHER BEING?] changes. We have the
ability and resources to bring them to an Animal Welfare Approved Processing
Facility [MEANINGLESS]. I will personally accompany them to the facility,
ensuring their handling is appropriate and calm [YOU THINK AN OXEN WILL DIE
CLAMLY? PLUS, THEIR DEATH IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR
PRESENCE OR LACK THEREOF---AGAIN, SOMETHING UNETHICAL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN,
BUT I WILL BE THERE TO WITNESS IT, SO ALL IS OKAY . . .].

I appreciate your
consideration for Bill and Lou. I also urge you to consider your dietary
choices, realizing that every beef animal is just as capable of experiencing
pain and pleasure as Bill and Lou. [FAIR ENOUGH. EXCELLENT! THIS IS WHY I
OPPOSE ALL SLAUGHTER. BUT YOUR WAY OF OPPOSING THE MASS SLAUGHTERING IS TO
SLAUGHTER YOU OWN "BEEF ANIMALS." EXPLAIN YOUR LOGIC.] However, most of the
beef cattle in our food system do not have the luxury of grass diets and a
long life. I hope if you do choose to consume meat, you consider every life
as important as Bill and Lou’s. If you do not choose to consume meat, I urge
you to focus your attention on the parts of our food system that truly
exploit the essence of domestic animals, rather than small, diversified
farms that strive every day to uphold values of animal welfare [HOW DOES
KILLING AN ANIMAL PROMOTE HIS WELFARE?]

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